OPINION, COMMENTARY, ANALYSIS
1. Torture, Brutality and Police Crime in Erdogan’s Turkey
2. The Intercept – TO SYRIA AND BACK3. Iraq War veterans warn: Mosul ‘victory’ is prelude to Iraqi state-failure4. No time for rest as Turkey’s Justice March reaches Istanbul
5. As ISIS Loses Ground the Trump Administration Should Extend Political Support to the Syrian Kurds: Analyst
6. Ankara may be counting on US-Russian rivalry in Syria
7. Cozy Tillerson-Erdogan meeting in Turkey raises hope for warming ties
8. The Next Battle: State Department, US Military Divided Over Kurdish Fighters In Syria and Russia

3. WATCH: Russia asks Kurds to hand Afrin to Syrian regime to stop Turkish attacks
13 July/Kurdistan 24A top Syrian Kurdish official in the country’s north-west district of Afrin said on Thursday that Russian forces asked them to allow the Syrian army enter Afrin in order to stop the Turkish attacks on the region.http://www.kurdistan24.net/en/news/b6158a99-dce6-493e-9a54-bf6dda696fac

6. Yüksekdağ: “We return Erdoğan’s comments in full”
13 July/ANF News“The AKP Chairperson thought he could smother the will of the peoples through prison when he failed to defeat it by legitimate political methods, but he was wrong. Now he is trying to save the day with cheap makeshift labelling and insults, humiliating himself and his country in front of the whole world in the process. But, as is apparent, he only sinks lower.https://anfenglish.com/news/yueksekdag-we-return-erdogan-s-comments-in-full-20951

7. Swedish politicians accuse Erdogan of genocide against Kurds
11 July/Al Masdar NewsThe five Scandinavian lawmakers, all from the Left and Green parties, came together on Tuesday morning to file the complaint, the first of its kind in the Swedish nation. Turkey stands accused of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes due to its counter-insurgency efforts in southeast Turkey.https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/swedish-politicians-accuse-erdogan-genocide-kurds/

8. Germany sentences Kurdish politician to 3 years and 3 months
13 July/ANF EnglishThe trial of Kurdish politician Muhlis Kaya at Stuttgart’s High State Court in accordance with the 129b article of German Criminal Code has been concluded today. Kaya, who is already jailed since 16 February 2016, has been sentenced to 3 years and 3 months in prison. Kaya has been denied abatement due to the act he stands trial for, and he will be released short before June, 2019.https://anfenglish.com/news/germany-sentences-kurdish-politician-to-3-years-and-3-months-20957

13. A symbol of solidarity – Two more Turks honoured with Leipzig’s freedom of the press award
6 July/European Centre for Press and Media FreedomThe awarding of our prize to Deniz Yücel and Asli Erdoğan is linked to a promise to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan who is taking part in the G20 Summit in Germany. He and his government can no more get rid of the demand for a return to press freedom and the release of arbitrarily arrested journalists than they can escape the responsibility for their political actions, for which they will some day be accountable”,https://ecpmf.eu/news/awards/deniz-yuecel-and-asli-erdoan-win-the-prize-for-the-freedom-and-future-of-the-media-2017

OPINION, COMMENTARY, ANALYSIS1. Torture, Brutality and Police Crime in Erdogan’s Turkeyby ROBERT FISK
14 July/Counter Punch
Fethullah Gulen says he has no intention of fleeing America if Donald Trump is going to extradite him to Turkey. But the Muslim cleric might like to read a new book before he obliges the Turkish President by climbing aboard a plane for Ankara or Istanbul. Accused of fomenting the attempted coup almost exactly a year ago, he has a touching faith in Turkish justice, which has organised the arrest of 50,000 Turks for involvement in the “terrorist” crime.https://www.counterpunch.org/2017/07/14/torture-brutality-and-police-crime-in-erdogans-turkey/

2. The Intercept – TO SYRIA AND BACKJosh Walker Fought Against ISIS. He Almost Got Killed. Now He’s Charged With Terrorism
10 July/The InterceptIT WAS A quiet night until the bombs began crashing out of the sky. Only a few minutes earlier, on the roof of a gray, single-story building not far from the city of Manbij in northern Syria, Josh Walker had been peacefully sleeping. Now the walls were collapsing beneath him, he was surrounded by fire, and his friends were dead.https://theintercept.com/2017/07/10/josh-walker-isis-uk-terrorism-charge-ypg-syria/

5. As ISIS Loses Ground the Trump Administration Should Extend Political Support to the Syrian Kurds: Analyst
10 July/ARA NewsSyrian Kurds and their Arab allies, under the banner of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), are in the process of capturing Raqqa, the de-facto capital of ISIS in Syria. In Iraq, the coalition of Kurdish Peshmerga, Iraqi Army, and various Shiite and Sunni militias have now liberated Mosul, the most populous city held by ISIS.http://aranews.net/2017/07/isis-loses-ground-trump-administration-extend-political-support-syrian-kurds-analyst/

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Jeremy Corbyn issues statement of support for the National Demo

Message from Jeremy Corbyn to Kurdish national demonstration London 6/3/16:
“I’m sorry not to be able to be with you today, but I send a message of solidarity with today’s demonstration, and with the Kurdish people, under sustained attack across the Middle East.
The conflict in Syria has been the trigger for an onslaught against the Kurdish people, who are defending their autonomy and their rights.
We are watching closely the alarming events that have been unfolding in Turkey in recent weeks, including the killing of civilians and destruction of Kurdish homes.
Any negotiated settlement of the Syrian conflict must include peace and justice for the Kurds, including in Turkey. And the Turkish government needs as a matter of urgency to restart the peace process with the Kurds and respect the rights of all its people.
We call for an end to repression of the Kurds and justice for the Kurdish people throughout the Middle East.”